Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SWALLOWS by WILLIAM ALEXANDER PERCY

First Line: OVER THE ROOFS THE SWALLOWS FLY
Last Line: THEY WOULD NOT FLY AGAIN.
Subject(s): FLIGHT; PRAYER; SWALLOWS; FLYING;
Over the roofs the swallows fly
In the quiet evening air.
Though just above the homes of men,
They have not any care.

The women on the balconies,
That watch and seem to see,
The birds could touch them with their wings,
They stand so quietly.

So quietly! But if the birds
Had cognizance of pain,
Could hear the prayers that quiver past,
They would not fly again.



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